Rather than the image backup, the question here is the simpler backup, the data and config files and documents and stuff like that. A backup that you independently design and it may be a small quantity of data. (If you have huge volume, like with email or video or iso, it may get its own special time and method attention.)

And many others. This allows flexibility (Preference, I would like one allows flexibility in the drive assignment of the target drive, to be overridden at the time of backup.) Since the quantity of data here is often small you have lots of flexibility in timing, target folder, multiple sets, etc. In many cases, you can even bypass incremental and simply do full backups of this volatile data.

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What about the cloud? In earlier days we talked a lot about drive mapping, WebDav and tools like ExpanDrive and similar tools. Now I want to ferget about all those. Services don't see mapped drives anyway, some of the drive mapping tools are quirky, some are $$ for multiple puters, etc. Today, with the cloud sophistication, those could be more pain than gain for the home user.

Let's just find the best tool for user-defined backup to the cloud that has:

DriveHQ definitely has (b). Question: what web backup has the strongest combination of (a) and (b)? A is more critical, since it actually gets the data there.

Does not have to be free. Especially since this is being used for smaller volumes of data.Does not have to synch in any way, but it can be a synch tool used in backup mode.

In the basic iteration of this question, you are including all Windows Desktop programs. e.g. DriveHQ's excellent file manager isa Windows download and install.

In another iteration of this question, you wonder if there are any cloud-based tools that can do even a decent job.

The main purpose of mapping would be allow the desktop tools to be used to the external cloud. The question here is,what is the next best way, without the mapping complexities and costs and another set of problems.

I'm going to say, tentatively, that DriveHQ is the leader here. It has a separate Online Backup program that is quite good. Not as sophisticated as a dedicated backup program, but quite fine. Gives you things like excluding specific file types and folders. More later as I try to use it a bit more. This is auxiliary to also having an excellent file manager.

If other programs, related to cloud backup, have something similar, it would be good to know. I would probably like to have two backup programs running to the cloud with my daily data.

This could be from either direction. The cloud says .. "use this backup ..". Or the backup program says "we support cloud a-b-c".

One reason that DriveHQ might be the leader is the fact that it has the professional level two-pane file manager built-in as well (separate download). I've found that quite helpful over the years.